Eligibility
An Employment Visa is granted to
- an employee or paid intern of an Indian company.
- persons traveling to India for volunteer work with a Non Governmental Organization (NGO).
In this case, there will be a special endorsement on the E visa “TO WORK WITH NGO – (Name of the NGO and place of work).
Spouse and dependent family members accompanying the applicant must apply for an Entry Visa (NOT Tourist Visa). Their visa duration will terminate according to the visa duration of the principal visa holder.
Eligibility Details
The following categories of foreign nationals are eligible for an Employment Visa:
- Foreign nationals coming to India as consultant on contract for whom the Indian company pays a fixed remuneration (this may not be in the form of a monthly salary).
- Foreign artists engaged to conduct regular performances for the duration of the employment contract given by Hotels, Clubs or other organizations.
- Foreign nationals who are coming to India to take up employment as coaches of national/state level teams or reputed sports clubs.
- Foreign sportsmen who are given a contract for a specified period by the Indian Clubs/Organizations.
- Self-employed foreign nationals coming to India for providing engineering, medical, accounting, legal or such other highly skilled services in their capacity as independent consultants provided the provision of such services by foreign nationals is permitted under law.
- Foreign language teachers/interpreters.
- Foreign specialist chefs.
- Foreign engineers/technicians coming to India for installation and commissioning of equipment/machines/tools in terms of the contract for supply of such equipment/machines/tools.
- Foreign nationals deputed for providing technical support/services, transfer of know-how/services for which the Indian company pays fees/royalty to the foreign company.
- Senior management personnel and/or specialists employed by foreign firms who are relocated to India to work on a specific project/management assignment.
- Foreign nationals coming to India for the execution of a project/contract [irrespective of the duration of the visit].
- Foreign nationals who are coming to India on short visits to a customer location to repair any plant or machinery as part of a warranty or annual maintenance contracts.
- Foreign nationals coming to India for imparting training for the personnel of the Indian company.
- Those traveling to India for volunteer work with Non-governmental organizations (NGO).
Conditions
An Employment Visa is granted subject to fulfillment of the following conditions:
- The applicant should be a highly skilled and/or qualified professional being engaged or appointed by a company or organization or industry or undertaking in India on contract or an employment basis at a senior level, skilled position such as technical expert, senior executive, or in a managerial position, etc.
- There should not be a qualified Indian available to do the job that the visa holder would be performing.
- The Employment visa can not be granted for routine, ordinary, or secretarial/clerical jobs.
- The employment must either be in a company/firm/organization registered in India or in a foreign company/firm/organization engaged for execution of some project in India.
- The employee’s salary must be in excess of U.S. $25,000 per year. However, this conditions does not apply to (a) Ethnic cooks, (b) Language teachers (other than English language teachers) / translators and (c) Staff working for the concerned Embassy/High Commission in India.
- The foreign national must comply will all legal requirements like payment of tax liabilities etc.
- The documents pertaining to the proposed employment will be thoroughly checked to decide the category of visa that may be issued to the foreigner.
- The name of the sponsoring employer/organization shall be clearly stipulated in the visa sticker.
- A foreign company/organization that does not yet have any Project office/subsidiary/joint venture/branch office in India can not sponsor a foreign national/employee of a foreign company for an Employment Visa. However, if the Indian company/organization has awarded a contract for the execution of a project to a foreign company that does not have any base in India, such a foreign company can sponsor the employee for Employment Visa.
- The Indian organization/entity that sponsors an Employment Visa does not necessarily have to be the legal employer of the person.
- The Indian company/organization engaging foreign nationals for executing projects/contracts would be responsible for the conduct of the foreign national during their stay in India and also for the departure of such foreign national upon expiry of visa.
Duration and Validity
The Embassy/Consulate may grant an employment visa, which is valid for a year, irrespective of the duration of the contract. Further extensions of up to 5 years may be obtained from MHA/FRRO in the concerned state in India.
The visa duration starts on the day of issuance, and not on the day of entry into India.
- A foreign technician may get an Employment visa for a period of five years or the duration of the bilateral agreement between India and the foreign government, whichever is less, with multiple entries.
- Highly skilled foreign personnel being employed in the IT software and IT enabled sectors, the validity is up to 3 years or the term of assignment, whichever is less, with multiple entries.
- Others can be granted an Employment Visa with validity up to two years or the term of assignment, whichever is less, with multiple entries.
Foreigner Registration
Those with the visa duration of 180 days or less do not require foreigner registration. Employment Visas valid for more than 180 days have an endorsement indicating that the foreigner registration with the FRRO/FRO is required within 14 days of arrival.
For those whom registration is required, FRRO/FRO may issue a Residential Permit for the validity of the visa period. However, in case of any change in the residential address, you must immediately report the change of address, in writing, to the concerned FRRO/FRO.
Extension
The Employment Visa can be extended by the State Governments/UTs/FRROs/FROs beyond the initial visa validity period, up to a total period of 5 years from the date of issue of the initial Employment Visa, on an annual basis, subject to good conduct, production of necessary documents in support of continued employment, filing of Income Tax returns and no adverse security inputs about the foreigner.
